Jab’s Builds! (Beaker! Sam Eagle! Miss Piggy! The Swedish Chef!)

Where in all of your character write ups will go.
sirjolt
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Re: Jab's Builds! (Cruella! Bagheera! Baloo! Shere Khan! Kaa! Robin Hood!)

Post by sirjolt »

This is the earliest Disney movie I can recall watching (though I didn't see it in '73, I was only born in '71). I liked this movie so much that the first time I saw Errol Flynn in Robin Hood the idea of all those characters being "real people" seemed odd to me; I mean, Robin was obviously a fox and it was hard for my young mind to see them as "real".
Jabroniville
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The Sheriff

Post by Jabroniville »

Image
Image

THE SHERIFF OF NOTTINGHAM
Played By:
Pat Buttram
Role: The Evil Lawman
Most Villainous Acts: Tries to burn down a castle to kill Robin Hood. Steals from a church. Steals someone's last farthing.
PL 6 (55)
STRENGTH
3 STAMINA 3 AGILITY 1
FIGHTING 6 DEXTERITY 2
INTELLIGENCE 1 AWARENESS 0 PRESENCE 0

Skills:
Athletics 2 (+5)
Deception 2 (+2)
Expertise (Lawman) 4 (+5)
Intimidation 3 (+3)
Investigation 2 (+2)
Perception 2 (+2)
Stealth 2 (+3)

Advantages:
Benefit (Sheriff of Nottingham), Equipment (Sword, Strength-Damage +2), Ranged Attack 4

Offense:
Unarmed +6 (+3 Damage, DC 18)
Sword +6 (+5 Damage, DC 20)
Initiative +10

Defenses:
Dodge +5 (DC 15), Parry +7 (DC 17), Toughness +3, Fortitude +3, Will +2

Complications:
Motivation (Greed, Duty)- The Sheriff does his duty as a tax collector with great aplomb, and goes as far as to steal money from young children, and arrest a man of the church.

Total: Abilities: 32 / Skills: 18--9 / Advantages: 7 / Powers: 0 / Defenses: 7 (55)

-The Sheriff takes the most direct approach in most Robin Hood stories, being a recurring threat who actually interacts with Robin most often. He's shown as greedy, cruel (seriously- he steals money from CHILDREN) and needlessly vicious, but he's also pretty much the yes-man hatchet-wolf for Prince John ("... but I just do my JOB..."). It's actually pretty hilarious how a guy in Crusades-era London has the voice of f*ckin' corrupt Southern hick. Pat Buttram, owner of the most unfortunate surname in history, was in countless Western flicks from the '50s and '60s, and did a lot of work for Disney around this era- he was in The Aristocats and The Fox and the Hound (as Chief)- his distinctive high-pitched Southern twang made him born to play old-timey untrustworthy/grouchy Western types.

Image

TRIGGER & NUTSY
Played By:
George Lindsey
Role: Super-Villainous Sidekick
Most Villainous Acts: Helps Arrest Friar Tuck
PL 4 (39)
STRENGTH
-1 STAMINA 0 AGILITY 1
FIGHTING 4 DEXTERITY 2
INTELLIGENCE -1 AWARENESS 0 PRESENCE 0

Skills:
Athletics 2 (+1)
Perception 2 (+2)

Advantages:
Equipment 2 (Crossbow- Blast +3), Ranged Attack 2

Powers:
"Small Size" Shrinking 4 (Feats: Innate) (Extras: Permanent +0) [17]
(-1 Strength & Speed, +2 Defenses, +4 Stealth, -2 Intimidation)

Offense:
Unarmed +4 (-1 Damage, DC 14)
Crossbow +4 (+3 Ranged Damage, DC 18)
Initiative +1

Defenses:
Dodge +4 (DC 14), Parry +5 (DC 15), Toughness +0, Fortitude +0, Will +0

Complications:
Accident (Ol' Betsy)- Trigger sure is attached to his Crossbow, but he's constantly misfiring her into the Sheriff's butt, getting him into trouble.

Total: Abilities: 12 / Skills: 4--2 / Advantages: 4 / Powers: 17 / Defenses: 2 (39)

-Nutsy & Trigger are the Sheriff's two idiotic henchmen. Nutsy has no Crossbow, and is actually DUMBER (losing a few points in the process, probably Awareness -1, Perception 0 and with no Equipment).
Last edited by Jabroniville on Thu Sep 06, 2018 11:03 pm, edited 1 time in total.
Jabroniville
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Sir Hiss

Post by Jabroniville »

Image

SIR HISS
Played By:
Terry-Thomas (Thomas Terry Hoar-Stevens)
Role: Super-Villainous Sidekick
Most Villainous Acts: Sends King Richard off on The Crusades to massacre thousands of Jews & Muslims.
PL 6 (45)
STRENGTH
-4 STAMINA -1 AGILITY 0
FIGHTING 0 DEXTERITY 0
INTELLIGENCE 1 AWARENESS 1 PRESENCE 0

Skills:
Athletics 4 (+1)
Deception 2 (+2)
Insight 2 (+3)
Perception 4 (+5)

Advantages:
Benefit (Ally of the Would-Be King)

Powers:
Movement 1 (Slithering) [2]
"Hypnotic Stare" Affliction 6 (Will; Entranced/Compelled/Controlled) (Extras: Continuous +3, Ranged) (Flaws: Distracting, Vision-Dependent) [18]

"Small Size" Shrinking 8 (Feats: Innate) (Extras: Permanent +0) [17]
(-2 Strength & Speed, +4 Defenses, +8 Stealth, -4 Intimidation)

Offense:
Unarmed +0 (-4 Damage, DC 11)
Hypnosis +0 (+6 Affliction, DC 16)
Initiative +0

Defenses:
Dodge +4 (DC 14), Parry +4 (DC 14), Toughness -1, Fortitude +0, Will +1

Complications:
Relationship (Prince John)- Though Sir Hiss disrespects his master behind his back, he's rather like a doddering grandmother to the would-be King. Either that or like a scorned boyfriend... yeah, actually that's closer.
Responsibility (Morals)- Despite being a greedy tax-counter allied with Prince John, even SIR HISS is mortified when he realizes John plans to hang a man of the church.

Total: Abilities: 0 / Skills: 12--6 / Advantages: 1 / Powers: 37 / Defenses: 1 (45)

-One of the few characters unique to the Disney adaptation, Sir Hiss was basically a variant of Kaa from The Jungle Book, right down to the same hypnotic powers. He's not a capable fighter by any means (even PRINCE JOHN is able to effortlessly overpower him), but his Hypnosis is what sent King Richard off on the Crusades (ya gotta love THAT bit of revisionist history to explain things to the kiddies, no?), and he's one of the few people in the Kingdom able to tell when Robin Hood is wearing one of his terrible disguises. He occasionally tries to set Prince John right ("Hang Friar Tuck? A man of the church?"), but he's really just a nasty little bastard, too.

About the Performer: Terry-Thomas (with a dash) has an ENORMOUS list of acting accomplishments for something I've never heard of, and was appearing in movies for years. He played a lot of "Fussy Englishman" types, and was known for a pronounced gap between his front teeth (which, in a casting gag, appear on Sir Hiss as well). He died about ten years after Robin Hood came out.
Jabroniville
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Prince John

Post by Jabroniville »

Image
Image

”AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHH!!!!!! MOMMMMYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY!!!!! *sucks thumb*”

PRINCE JOHN (John Lackland)
Played By:
Peter Ustinov
Role: The Evil Ruler, The Biggest Wussy of All Time, Mama's Boy
Most Villainous Act: Angry? Tax everyone in Nottingham into poverty, then throw them into jail! EVEN CHILDREN!! Also tried to hang Friar Tuck.
PL 1 (8)
STRENGTH
0 STAMINA 0 AGILITY 1
FIGHTING 0 DEXTERITY 0
INTELLIGENCE 0 AWARENESS 0 PRESENCE 0

Skills:
Expertise (Royalty) 2 (+2)

Advantages:
Benefit 4 (Ruler of England Without Richard Around)

Offense:
Unarmed +0 (+0 Damage, DC 15)
Initiative +10

Defenses:
Dodge +1 (DC 11), Parry +1 (DC 11), Toughness +0, Fortitude +0, Will +1

Complications:
Motivation (Greed, Pride, Respect)- He has tons of money (and sleeps using the money taxed from the poor as bedding), but nobody in the kingdom respects him. Even his own employees sing the "Villain Sucks Song" that the Merry Men came up with about him.
Responsibility ("MOMMY!!!!!")- Prince John is a true Mama's Boy, so obsessed with his mother and her treatment of him ("mother always DID like Richard best...") that he's reduced to sucking his thumb and whimpering like a baby at the mere mention of her existence.
Responsibility (Royalty)- As ruler in Richard's stead, John has many duties to uphold. He ignores all of them. He DOES have to give the throne back when Richard comes home, however.

Total: Abilities: 2 / Skills: 2--1 / Advantages: 4 / Powers: 0 / Defenses: 2 (8)

-Prince John is actually a wonderfully unique villain for the Disney franchise- where so many villains have tremendous raw presence, phenomenal songs and an aura of danger, Prince John is instead a giant, pathetic weakling. It's even a recurring gag just HOW worthless he is- he grovels, snivels, whines and cries for respect and admiration, and constantly screws everything up, letting even the most idiotic of diguises past him. I mean, there's been some Butt-Monkey Disney villains out there, but this guy just makes you feel DISGUSTED with him because he's so authentically bad. It's actually really hilarious watching him suck his thumb like a baby and cry for his mommy (Eleanore of Aquitane) because he's such a putz.

-It's funny, because the actual Prince John (later King John- when Richard died, he got the throne for real) has a lot of debates thrown around him- Historians and Classicists are as bad as any other type of researcher when it comes to "NO! You're all WRONG- it is *I* who understand the truth of the matter!", and so there are constant revisions. He was unpopular for much of his reign, and he was often seen as a crappy ruler, but over time people came to appreciate parts of his rule. But that doesn't really matter in the public eye, especially once the Robin Hood fables were attached to him- now, pretty much every Robin Hood story involves the Prince AND the Sheriff of Nottingham as villains. And really, more stories than just Robin Hood paint John as an effeminate, weak ruler.

-And funnily enough, the good ol' "Villain Sucks Song" known as The Phony King of England may actually be based on a REAL SONG- The Bastard King of England, though unfortunately Disney's version does not contain any references to the clap or "the royal tool" being used in exactly the same context we would use it in an insult song today.

-John's stats reflect an interesting twist on many formulas- unlike video games and a lot of movies, the End Boss isn't some elite bad-ass, Dark Lord or powerful sorceror- he's a wussy-covered wussy with a wussy filling. The only thing dangerous about him is the wealth and soldiers he can bring to bear, and he's utterly helpless on his own. The only positive thing you can say about him is that he's pretty good at laying traps, so much as "make something obvious that Robin will come for, and set your agents after him" is a good plan- he sets up the Archery Tournament (with Marian's kiss as the prize) and plans to hang Friar Tuck, knowing both times that Robin will interfere.

About the Performer: Peter Ustinov was a highly-respected English actor, having won two Academy Awards and a trophy of just about every type. He played Hercule Poirot in numerous productions, wrote novels, did interviews, and was active in diplomacy- a true Renaissance Man.
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Davies
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Re: Jab's Builds! (Baloo! Shere Khan! Kaa! Robin Hood! The Sheriff!)

Post by Davies »

I'm fairly sure that Disney's Prince John is intended to reference the portrayal of him in the play and later film The Lion in Winter.
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greycrusader
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Re: Jab's Builds! (Baloo! Shere Khan! Kaa! Robin Hood! The Sheriff!)

Post by greycrusader »

From what I've read, Richard the Lionheart was an absolutely terrible king, but a popular one; he beggared the nation by launching poorly considered wars of choice, ultimately lost most of his campaigns (Richard was a fine, brave warrior and skilled tactician, but apparently a lousy strategist), spent almost no actual time in England during his reign, and even alienated the Church by taxing them for his Crusades and making them pay to ransom him out of captivity. However, he was widely admired among the lower classes because of his personal heroism (kings didn't lead their own armies, as a rule), his "pious" battles against Muslim occupiers, and his personal charisma (Richard was almost a giant in height by the era's standards, muscular, and good looking). His personal attributes appear to be rather mixed-brave, loyal, and stoic, but also sexually ravenous (and likely bisexual), bad tempered, and needlessly cruel to captured foes.

John Lackland apparently shared his brother's penchant for cruelty (bordering on sadism), was rather miserly, and was quite spiteful, never forgetting a grudge. On the other hand, most historians agree King John was a much better ruler of England, generally a competent if unspectacular administrator and military commander. However, he suffered a LOT from not being Richard-he wasn't brave, handsome, dashing, or pious. So of course the legends crafted around the two cast John as a villain and weakling.

All my best.
Jabroniville
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Mooks

Post by Jabroniville »

Image

WOLF MINIONS
Played By:
None
Role: Mooks
PL 3 (30)
STRENGTH
1 STAMINA 1 AGILITY 2
FIGHTING 4 DEXTERITY 0
INTELLIGENCE 0 AWARENESS 0 PRESENCE 0

Skills:
Expertise (Soldier) 2 (+2)
Intimidation 2 (+2)

Advantages:
Equipment 2 (Bow & Arrow +3), Ranged Attack 3

Offense:
Unarmed +4 (+1 Damage, DC 16)
Bow & Arrow +3 (+3 Ranged Damage, DC 18)
Initiative +2

Defenses:
Dodge +3 (DC 13), Parry +4 (DC 14), Toughness +1, Fortitude +1, Will +0

Total: Abilities: 16 / Skills: 4--2 / Advantages: 5 / Powers: 0 / Defenses: 7 (30)

Image
Image

As a kid, I legit thought that rhino with the mask was the coolest f*ckin' guy I'd ever seen.

RHINO MINIONS
Played By:
None
Role: Mooks
PL 4 (30)
STRENGTH
4 STAMINA 4 AGILITY 0
FIGHTING 2 DEXTERITY 0
INTELLIGENCE 0 AWARENESS 0 PRESENCE 0

Skills:
Expertise (Soldier) 2 (+2)
Intimidation 2 (+2)

Advantages:
Equipment 1 (Halberd)

Powers:
Growth 2 (+2 ST & STA, +1 Intimidation, +1 Mass) (Feats: Innate) (Extras: Permanent +0) [5]

Offense:
Unarmed +2 (+4 Damage, DC 19)
Halberd +2 (+5 Damage, DC 20)
Initiative +0

Defenses:
Dodge +1 (DC 11), Parry +2 (DC 12), Toughness +4, Fortitude +4, Will +0

Total: Abilities: 20 / Skills: 4--2 / Advantages: 1 / Powers: 5 / Defenses: 3 (30)

-Just a look at the Mooks of Robin Hood. The Wolves are bad at aiming or doing damage, and the Rhinos are inaccurate and can't take a hit nearly as well as their size would imply.
Jabroniville
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Winnie the Pooh

Post by Jabroniville »

Image

THE MANY ADVENTURES OF WINNIE THE POOH (1977):
Written by:
A.A. Milne (Original Stories), Larry Clemmons, Ralph Wright, Vance Gerry, Xavier Atencio, Ken Anderson, Julius Svendsen, Ted Berman & Eric Cleworth
-Okay, every kid loved this series of shorts (at least the ones I knew). They're so successful that they pretty much effortlessly became BY FAR the most famous stuff related to Pooh (heh heh), unless they know a great deal out of the weirdly-drawn children's stories about a Canadian soldier's bear ("A Part of Our Heritage" indeed) and how it ruined the life of Christopher Robin Milne. You can actually determine a lot about a person by which Pooh characters they most respond to- Pooh is more genuinely friendly and a slave to his addictions like your classic happy, fat glutton. Rabbit is a crabby grouch who loves to complain (you can immediately guess which character is my favourite :)). Eeyore is suicidally-depressed, and is virtually the ICONIC "Gloomy Character". Piglet is a cowardly crybaby. Tigger is a catchphrase-spouting annoyance. Then there's the whistling, cheerful Gopher, the intellectual braggart Owl, generic mother-figure Kanga and cute toy-bait Roo. Really, it's a massively-iconic collection of kids' characters, which is why it's been so popular over the years. There's been a long-running cartoon series, a couple other movies (one of them CGI), etc.

-The stories by A.A. Milne were of course massively popular back in the day, much to the annoyance of the author (who considered himself more well-rounded than "just a children's book author")- the stories about his son Christopher Robin's stuffed toys became a sensation, and continued to be such even after he ended the series rather early (with the toys having a "Farewell Party" for Christopher, who was implied to be leaving for school, and wouldn't need his toys for companionship any longer).

-Disney, which was struggling financially at the time (its previous feature was FOUR YEARS EARLIER), made this one on the cheap, simply gathering three animated featurettes together with some extra material. The film was the final one in the Animated Canon to feature any kind of involvement from Walt, as he'd overseen the release of one of the shorts before he died in 1967- this makes a big crossing point for the studio.

Reception & Cultural Impact:
-This series of shorts did MASSIVELY well, and were a regular appearance in my home as a child. Disney's interpretations of the characters would become a near-universal default, with nobody else touching them. There'd be a TV series or two, dark rides in all the Disney Theme Parks (the best of which is Pooh's Hunny Hunt in Tokyo Disneyland- a trackless dark ride that shames all the other, pretty low-key offerings elsewhere). Most of the performers are not that well known today, though Don Fiedler's distinctive voice as Piglet can also be heard as Juror #2 in Twelve Angry Men. Comedian Paul Winchell, who voiced Tigger, also performed as Gargamel and Dirk Dastardly. Howard Morris as Gopher is far more well known for being on The Andy Griffith Show and Sid Caesar's sketch comedy show. Bruce Reitherman would voice both Christopher Robin and Mowgli in The Jungle Book- he now mostly directs documentaries. Eeyore's voice, Ralph Wright, was actually a prolific Disney animator who just had the right tone.

-It's also one of the few films in the Animated Canon to have a sequel also within the canon, as 2011 saw the release of:
Jabroniville
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Winnie the Pooh II

Post by Jabroniville »

WINNIE THE POOH (2011):
Written by:
A.A. Milne (Original Stories), Burny Mattinson, Stephen J. Anderson, Clio Chiang, Don Dougherty, Don Hall, Kendelle Hoyer, Brian Kesinger, Nicole Mitchell & Jeremy Spears

-This sequel of sorts brings back all of the classic Pooh characters, as they attempt to save Christopher Robin from an imagined assailant. One of the movies John Lasseter worked on when he moved over to Disney, it featured a lot of talent from the studios (such as the husband/wife team that helped make Frozen such a smash hit). Like most Pooh things, it's a very... quiet film.

Reception & Cultural Impact:
-The movie was made on the cheap, but is by far one of the most poorly-received Disney Animated Canon productions in terms of box office receipts, making only $50 million (to put that in perspective, it's about 1/6th of what a big Princess Movie might make). A lot of it can be chalked up to being released the same weekend as the final Harry Potter film. Reviews were generally positive, at least.
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Ken
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Re: Jab's Builds! (Baloo! Shere Khan! Kaa! Robin Hood! The Sheriff!)

Post by Ken »

Were the shorts in "The Many Adventures..." Winnie the Pooh and the Honey Tree, Winnie the Pooh and the Blustery Day, and Winnie the Pooh and Tigger Too?

I remember them as shorts shown on TV. I never saw "The Many Adventures".
Last edited by Ken on Fri Sep 07, 2018 9:38 am, edited 1 time in total.
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Jabroniville
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Re: Jab's Builds! (Baloo! Shere Khan! Kaa! Robin Hood! The Sheriff!)

Post by Jabroniville »

Davies wrote: Fri Sep 07, 2018 1:17 am I'm fairly sure that Disney's Prince John is intended to reference the portrayal of him in the play and later film The Lion in Winter.
Interesting! I've never heard of that.
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Re: Jab's Builds! (Baloo! Shere Khan! Kaa! Robin Hood! The Sheriff!)

Post by Jabroniville »

greycrusader wrote: Fri Sep 07, 2018 2:49 am From what I've read, Richard the Lionheart was an absolutely terrible king, but a popular one; he beggared the nation by launching poorly considered wars of choice, ultimately lost most of his campaigns (Richard was a fine, brave warrior and skilled tactician, but apparently a lousy strategist), spent almost no actual time in England during his reign, and even alienated the Church by taxing them for his Crusades and making them pay to ransom him out of captivity. However, he was widely admired among the lower classes because of his personal heroism (kings didn't lead their own armies, as a rule), his "pious" battles against Muslim occupiers, and his personal charisma (Richard was almost a giant in height by the era's standards, muscular, and good looking). His personal attributes appear to be rather mixed-brave, loyal, and stoic, but also sexually ravenous (and likely bisexual), bad tempered, and needlessly cruel to captured foes.

John Lackland apparently shared his brother's penchant for cruelty (bordering on sadism), was rather miserly, and was quite spiteful, never forgetting a grudge. On the other hand, most historians agree King John was a much better ruler of England, generally a competent if unspectacular administrator and military commander. However, he suffered a LOT from not being Richard-he wasn't brave, handsome, dashing, or pious. So of course the legends crafted around the two cast John as a villain and weakling.

All my best.
Yeah, his ransoming basically bankrupted England, but his charisma and personal heroism turned him into this legendary figure.

And like I said, historians keep doing the "No- YOU are wrong!" thing with John- the sort of thing that reminds me why History & Classics are listed in the "Arts" section of schooling :).
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Re: Jab's Builds! (Baloo! Shere Khan! Kaa! Robin Hood! The Sheriff!)

Post by Jabroniville »

Ken wrote: Fri Sep 07, 2018 5:06 am Were the shorts in "The Many Adventures..." Winnie the Pooh and the Honey Tree, Winnie the Pooh and the Blustery Day, and Winnie the Pooh and Tigger Too?

I remember them as shorts shown on TV. I never say "The Many Adventures".
Apparently it's these three:

Winnie the Pooh and the Honey Tree (1966)
Winnie the Pooh and the Blustery Day (1968)
Winnie the Pooh and Tigger Too (1974)

The funny thing is, I remember the ads more than the shorts, because we taped it off of TV, and would have to ask our parents to run it on VHS. I still remember a Chevy commercial, and a TON of ads for "Big Red" chewing gum.
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Re: Jab's Builds! (Cruella! Bagheera! Baloo! Shere Khan! Kaa! Robin Hood!)

Post by Jabroniville »

Ares wrote: Wed Sep 05, 2018 7:12 am Robin Hood is probably my overall favorite Disney animated film of all time, though Big Hero 6 makes it more of a toss up (an if we discount Pixar films and Disney properties like Marvel and Star Wars). The film is just fun, a solid "in-medias-res" Robin Hood story where Robin Hood is already fighting evil and being a cunning outlaw.
That's funny- I never remember you praising Big Hero Six to this level. Your comments whenever I post it were basically a "hey, it's better than the source material, and it's the good case of changing from the sources, because the source SUCKED". I mean, you barely talked about it. And when I first built the characters when the movie came out, you spent all your time talking about the Silver Samurai, because I was posting the Marvel guys at the same time :).
Funny enough, for a Robin Hood movie, he doesn't actually use his bow all that often. There's the archery contest where he fires about four times, but apart from that he fires his bow maybe two or three times. It's just funny that the guy known for shooting a bow and arrow shoots the thing less than 10 times in a movie. But it is a Disney film and they can't have him do too much shooting that wouldn't be trick shots and the like.
Yeah, I don't think I noticed that at the time- a very clever, G-Rated version of the concept by Disney. It's kind of funny, because it's still a plot point that he's the best archer ever.
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Re: Jab's Builds! (Baloo! Shere Khan! Kaa! Robin Hood! The Sheriff!)

Post by Woodclaw »

Jabroniville wrote: Fri Sep 07, 2018 6:44 am
greycrusader wrote: Fri Sep 07, 2018 2:49 am From what I've read, Richard the Lionheart was an absolutely terrible king, but a popular one; he beggared the nation by launching poorly considered wars of choice, ultimately lost most of his campaigns (Richard was a fine, brave warrior and skilled tactician, but apparently a lousy strategist), spent almost no actual time in England during his reign, and even alienated the Church by taxing them for his Crusades and making them pay to ransom him out of captivity. However, he was widely admired among the lower classes because of his personal heroism (kings didn't lead their own armies, as a rule), his "pious" battles against Muslim occupiers, and his personal charisma (Richard was almost a giant in height by the era's standards, muscular, and good looking). His personal attributes appear to be rather mixed-brave, loyal, and stoic, but also sexually ravenous (and likely bisexual), bad tempered, and needlessly cruel to captured foes.

John Lackland apparently shared his brother's penchant for cruelty (bordering on sadism), was rather miserly, and was quite spiteful, never forgetting a grudge. On the other hand, most historians agree King John was a much better ruler of England, generally a competent if unspectacular administrator and military commander. However, he suffered a LOT from not being Richard-he wasn't brave, handsome, dashing, or pious. So of course the legends crafted around the two cast John as a villain and weakling.

All my best.
Yeah, his ransoming basically bankrupted England, but his charisma and personal heroism turned him into this legendary figure.

And like I said, historians keep doing the "No- YOU are wrong!" thing with John- the sort of thing that reminds me why History & Classics are listed in the "Arts" section of schooling :).
The history of England in the 12th century was really interesting and more or less dominated by Eleanor of Aquitaine (the mother of Richard and John, who were actually just 2 out of 10 children she sired as Queen of France and, later, Queen of England). By all accounts she was quite possibly one of the most keen political minds of her time and the de facto ruler of England during the reign of Richard.
One interesting tidbit, according to some historians Eleanor greatly favored the bold and brash Richard, whereas their father (Henry II) considered the more bookish John a better heir.
Second really weird tidbit: in 1191 Richard sent a number of letters to the Saladin to negotiate a truce. It' s a well known fact that both monarchs knew each other and had a healthy degree of respect as military leaders. According to what I read Richard went so far as proposing a marriage between his sister Joan of England (later Queen of Sicily) and one of Saladin's brothers. The entire thing came crazy close to becoming a reality, but it failed due to Richard insisting of Saladin's brother becoming Christian. Now this would have been a hell of an alternative history.
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